


No Escape

by JaxtheCyborg



Category: Borderlands
Genre: Angst, Gen, Loss, i have zero idea how to tag this so bare with me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-28
Updated: 2015-08-28
Packaged: 2018-04-17 14:52:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4670825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaxtheCyborg/pseuds/JaxtheCyborg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Timothy couldn’t handle it anymore, he threw his hands out to grasp at Jack’s throat and squeeze the breath out of him. Instead he was met with the cool feeling of glass against his hands. Jack was just out of reach, this time on the outside of the glass mirror. A smirk played across his face as Timothy beat and screamed against the glass.<br/>“You are me, kiddo.”</p><p>--</p><p>Just my thoughts on Timothy after leaving Handsome Jack and possibly living on Pandora? Maybe? I dunno. I was just writing and this happened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. No Better

**Author's Note:**

> I posted the first chapter of this on Tumblr a while ago and TOTALLY fell in love with it. So I expanded just a little.
> 
> Originally I was going to really expand on Moxxi and Timbo's relationship ('cause I ship them hella hard... whoops)  
> But then I felt like this should really just be about Tim...
> 
> Soooo... yeah?  
> I'm still thinking about writing something about Tim/Mox, but I just started college and I'm unsure as to how much time I'll have. 
> 
> If you like this PLEASE let me know. (The more I know the more likely I'll be to write more... 'cause I'm super rare to writing fanfics...)

How long had it been? Days? Weeks? Months…? It has been too god damn long, that’s how long. He doubted that he would recognize himself if he saw an old picture. Was the hair a flaming red? Or an old rusty copper? Could he still count the freckles that spread across his face?

Doubtful.

This new face, while it was very much him, was so distant. Warm to the touch but cold to the heart. 

Timothy had been sitting in front of a mirror for about an hour now, staring with an empty gaze at the man he saw there. He had grown sort of used to the claimed attractiveness that he had gained with the reconstructive surgery and it had been a nice change of pace to have people hit on him instead of him just wishing for courage. Feeling like a hero was amazing, and sometimes he felt so good about it. 

The closer they had gotten to the vault the less he felt himself caring about the people he killed. They were the bad guys anyway, right? He was doing Elpis right, hell he was doing Pandora and the whole damn galaxy right. All that sparkly alien tech just ached to be used to better the fate of humanity. He was a hero. He was working for a hero (granted a rather egocentric asshole of a hero, but nobody’s perfect…?)

He was getting complacent. A good little trained dog idolizing its master and playing fetch. That was until they got inside the vault… and everything changed. 

Having someone try to kill him was a normal occurrence, and Lilith was no different from the rest. Watching her spring from seemingly thin air and punch the living shit out of Jack was surprising to say the least. The feeling of intense helplessness as he watched the artifact brand itself into Jack’s face had made his stomach twist and turn into knots. That was HIS face now, too. Rage filled Timothy’s heart to the brim and he wanted nothing more than to destroy Lilith just as she had done to Jack. 

In that moment anything Jack did or said made perfect sense to him.

He became ardently loyal.

Everything Jack said was law, and Tim followed so blindly that he never caught the almost bereft glances Jack began to give him. 

The addition of Jack’s new mask gave the two men a stark contrast, and it was blatantly obvious who the original was and who was the reproduction. Timothy was a forlorn reminder of the times before, a shadow of the hero who once was. And that just wasn’t gonna do. 

Being called up to Handsome Jack’s office was no rare event, and Timothy did so without questioning. However when he walked down the long hallway like he had done so many times before there was a strange static in the air. The door to the office opened with ease, but Timothy felt a strange apprehension as his mind desperately told him not to proceed. He ignored it.

There he was, standing before the large window like he always was. He greeted Timothy went he entered with a large grin and open arms, beckoning him to sit in a chair that had been a new addition to the front of Jack’s desk. Tim sat without a sound as Jack walked around his desk.

“So, you’ve been a rather busy working bee lately, haven’t you?” He chuckled. “I-I remember when we first met, you were all ‘god he’s such and asshole’ and whispering ‘dickface’ under your breath.” Jack seemed to looking upon the past rather fondly, however the fact that he had known about all of the side-eyed comments Tim had made began to make that feeling of apprehension real. “Now, look at you now! All ‘yes, sir’, such a good little soldier!” He had walked around to the front of him now, taking Tim’s nose in between his thumb and knuckle of his forefinger, giving his nose a twitch. 

Timothy’s eyebrow rose in confusion as Jack kneeled in front of him, an overdramatic pout forming at his thin lips. “The only thing is, kiddo… You’re not doing your job anymore, and we just can’t have that.” Tim’s confusion deepened as Jack stood up quickly and snapped his fingers. With the sound of his snap arm restraints burst from the chair and held Timothy down, accompanied by ankle straps and a few more for his chest. He was pinned to the chair, and no matter how hard he struggled… there was no escape. 

Handsome Jack had swiftly retreated behind his desk and had ducked below it to retrieve something. When he came back into view he was holding a large brand in the shape all too familiar. It glowed a hot white, burning so intensely that Timothy could feel the heat from where he was sitting. 

The light of the brand lit up Jack’s eyes, a wicked smile had splayed itself across his face as his eyes darted from the hot metal to Timothy’s face.

Timothy wasn’t dumb. He knew exactly what was going on and struggled desperately against his bindings. 

“We are gonna have to change that gorgeous face, kiddo.” Jack approached him slowly. Painfully slowly. Timothy’s face contorted with fear as he tried to somehow pull himself as far away from the warmth as he could. Jack gave the brand a leisurely twirl, “But don’t worry! Things are gonna get a lot more fun for Handsome Jack…” He lined the image of the vault symbol up with Tim’s face and cracked a smile, “You’ll see.”

The rest that he remembered was pain. Pain and an intense cruel laugh piercing the air.

He still dreamed about that laugh. His laugh. His own god damn laugh. 

The mirror he had been looking into finally came back into focus. The man staring back at him was distant and cruel. The high arched eyebrows and the stone-like complexion were so familiar to him, a spitting image of the very epitome of selfish need that Handsome Jack was. 

Raising his hands he played with the metal clasp at his chin, undoing it slowly then continuing with the others. He had hoped beyond hope many times that maybe by some miracle when he took that mask off his old face would be waiting beneath. That somehow he could wash away the past and simply return to the innocence that he once had. Before the killing. Before the vault. Before the corruption. But that would never happen, because the damage had already been done. He was once again met with the same grotesque reminder. 

A reminder that he was no better than Handsome Jack.


	2. Escape

The time in which Timothy left Handsome Jack’s motley crew was a lot less eventful than he had anticipated. Everything was happening on Pandora now and it wasn’t long before he was sent to the planet on some lame mission to impersonate Jack at a grand opening of some building in Opportunity. 

The big reveal had gone quite swimmingly and after posing for some pictures he was granted the perfect set up for disappearance. Tim quickly stole away into the large crowd and pushed past the adoring fans who made no problem of swarming him, making it rather impossible for any Hyperion guards to see just where he had gone. 

There was only one issue: he stuck out like a sore thumb and there was no chance in hell that no one would recognize him. 

Within no time at all there he was being pushed about by hot sweaty bodies and pulled left and right by needy hands. It quickly started to wear on him as the citizens of Opportunity frantically grasped at their chance to be seen and talk to the Face of Hyperion. A face that was quickly twisting with desperation as he pushed and shoved, trying to find a way out. 

“Handsome Jack! Over here, Handsome Jack!” They chanted the name into his ears. 

“Timmy, sugar. Over here.” Out of the crowd, came a low and friendly voice. A voice that sounded all too familiar to Timothy. His eyes darted back and forth for the face that he knew belonged to the whisper, but found no one among the faces of Opportunity. 

That was when a ginger hand was placed onto his shoulder, causing him to spin around.

There she was. 

Moxxi was as beautiful as ever, but she looked nothing like how she had when he first met her. Her hair was pulled back and hidden beneath a dirty yellow bandana, and a simple t-shirt reading ‘Hyperion’ across the front along with cargo pants littered with grease spots and dirt had replaced her normal attire. Her face didn’t have a speck of dirt on it, but it was also absent of any form of makeup. She was hardly recognizable. 

“Come with me.” She spoke quickly. 

Without questioning, Timothy followed her through the crowd and somehow managed to make it into a side street away from the madness. They stopped for a moment.  
“What the hell are you doing here, do you realize how much trouble you could get yourself into?” 

Moxxi looked at him with an eyebrow raised, “Do you really think I wouldn’t come here without a plan? You underestimate me, babe.” With one swift motion she took a backpack from her back that Tim hadn’t noticed at first, placing it before them. “I come here all the time to… check up on things.” She unzipped it, “And when I heard that ‘Jack’ himself,” she made air quotations with her fingers, “I knew I couldn’t pass up the chance to come here. There was no way that that jackass would come here himself.” Out of the backpack she pulled an old duster coat that was riddled with bullet holes. “Quick, sugar, take off that jacket and put this on.”

Timothy didn’t hesitate. While he stripped himself of his jacket, vest, and white dress shirt he felt Moxxi work her hands through his hair. He felt his heart skip a beat at her touch, even though it was less than delicate. 

Mussing his hair quickly and changing his clothes still weren’t enough. The mask was unmistakable. Moxxi clenched her jaw in frustration as she looked at him. The crowd was starting to realize that Jack had given them the slip and were beginning to search about for him, giving their available time an extreme limit.  
That was when an idea struck her. 

Pulling the yellow bandana recklessly from her hair she shook it out and tied it around his face. While his eyes still glared out over the brim, the cloth covered up the majority of recognizable features. 

“Good enough. Now. Follow me, stay quiet and whatever you do, do not make eye contact with anyone. You look like a bandit now, and the last thing we need is to piss off the Hyperion goons. There is a fast travel station not too far away, we get there and we get you outta here. Got it all, love?” He nodded obediently. “Good.” She offered him a kind smile then took off.

That was it. That was his glorious escape. 

He had later questioned Moxxi’s ability to know it was him instead of Handsome Jack himself or even another body double, along with how she knew that he was trying to run away. She had only given him a smirk saying, “Oh sugar, people are so predictable.” Then winked and walked away.

His new home in Sanctuary was in the basement of Moxxi’s bar. It probably wasn’t the safest place for him to stay with the fact that he shared the same face with the man that pretty much everyone on Pandora wanted dead, but it was better than working for him. 

He would go out at night and visit Roland occasionally, who was the only other person besides Moxxi who knew he existed. Roland was one of the kindest men he had ever met, and even with the whole betrayal thing the two of them got along rather well. 

Having actual friends had been a very pleasant development, and while no one could see his face, his life had taken a nice turn. 

It was growing dark outside, a dimming golden light streaming in through the small window that rested at the very top of the wall in his room cast down upon his lap as he finally stirred from staring at his reflection in the mirror that hung precariously on the wall.

He played with the mask in his hands, contemplating whether or not to secure it back onto his face or allow the scar to show tonight. His shame towards the mark had prevented him from allowing anyone from seeing it, and thankfully neither Roland nor Moxxi pressed him too hard to let them see underneath. But something about this evening had him wanting to show it.

Taking a deep breath he rolled his eyes and placed the mask once again against his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay for me not knowing what I'm doing!


	3. Security

His new clothes were ragged and worn, stolen from bandits and vagabonds. The only pieces of clothing that he felt were truly his were the pair of boots that he had been given when he first became the doppelgänger (do to the fact that his feet had now grown very accustomed to them and he absolutely hated working in new shoes) and a cloak that had been given to him from Moxxi. It wasn’t really anything special, but it had been fashioned with a hood and a mask to cover his face for the occasional trip out into the sunlight.

He pulled it close to him as he readied for the outside world. It somehow still smelled like her. His heart fluttered as he thought of Moxxi and the smile she had given him when he received his gift. She was like home to him now, and no matter how long he was in her company he still couldn’t completely manage a coherent sentence.

Allowing the warmth that washed over him to fade, he quickly climbed the steps that led up to the main floor of Moxxi’s bar. He never really had to worry about people seeing him leaving the backroom, mainly because all those who were at the bar at that time were drunk beyond saving, so he left with little a care. 

His foot falls out of the bar were muffled by the droning music that came from within. The night air brushed at his eyes and played delicately with a lock of grey hair that had loosed itself from below his hood. 

Sanctuary smelled like shit. But it was a good, hearty, and safe sorta… shit smell. For being a city floating miles up in the sky (a fact that Timothy desperately tried to forget about) it did not in the least smell like fresh air. 

Tim walked swiftly through the streets, heading towards the sort of city center and entered the door to the Crimson Raiders HQ. Around this time all of the Vault Hunters were out or asleep, generally not sticking around to simply engage in idle conversation. Roland had assured him that nightfall was a safe time for him to visit and as of yet he wasn’t wrong.

“Who the hell are you?” Timothy stopped in his tracks while he was making his way for the stairs. Turning slowly he found a face he knew all too well looking up to him from a couch.

Lilith was lounging casually, her feet propped up on the table in front of her.

He had almost forgot that she existed, and the sight of her made rage bubble in his chest.

“I… uh… I’m a friend of Roland’s.” Fear thankfully caused his voice to crack stupidly, shielding it from being too familiar to the Siren’s ears.

One of Lilith’s eyebrows arched questioningly, “He’s never mentioned you… or rather, I’ve never seen you.” She took a sip from a bottle she had been holding. “What’s your name, kid?” She sounded rather relaxed, far more interested in her drink than in him. 

“Well, my… uh-“

“Timmy!” Timothy spun around to see Roland waving for him to follow, “Moxxi and I were wondering when you would show up, I was just on my way out to get you.”  
A smile played across both Lilith and Tim’s faces as they saw Roland, his presence warming the room slightly. 

“Hey, babe, why haven’t I ever met your friend here?” There was a pause between them all as Timothy became all the more thankful for the built in mask on his cloak.

Roland motioned for Tim to go upstairs as he approached Lilith, in a somewhat whispering tone he answered her, “He’s a little on the… well, shy side. Attractive women make him nervous.”

Lilith smiled brightly to him, obviously pleased by his in-direct compliment, “Well then he shouldn’t be playing cards with Moxxi. Poor kid is gonna lose everything.” She took another sip of her drink, “Have fun, babe.”

Roland joined Timothy on the stairs and they climbed them together.

“Shit, Tim, if Lilith sees your face she will not ask questions first.” Roland’s tone became very serious very quickly as he hurried the two of them up the stairs and into a side room. Within there was a small table set up with a single light shining brightly, illuminating Moxxi who was very obviously bored.

“How was I supposed to know she would be there? You told me that you guys would be the only ones here at this time.” 

“Listen, I said that there would be less of a chance you would be seen at this time, not that you should casually walk in here like you own the place. You’re being reckless.”

Timothy knew he was right, but he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of anger at him.

“Oh, tut tut… Did my dear, Timothy get himself in trouble? You being a bad boy, sugar?” Moxxi smirked, Tim felt his face flush red. It was times like this that he was thankful for the second face he wore.

“Now we can get things started.” Roland patted Tim’s back.

The three of them sat around the table, a drink for each, and the game began.

An hour passed and it was clear who was winning their little game, as always Moxxi stood triumphant against the men. Several more drinks had passed their lips and the laughter was coming a lot easier now.

“I don’t know if I can take much more, Mox.” Roland chuckled heartily as he once again placed his cards down on the table in defeat. 

Moxxi eagerly dragged the winnings from the center of the table towards her, “Oh come on, sugar. You’ve got a few more games in you yet.” She looked to Tim, “How about you, love? You’re not gonna finish early on me, are you?” She pouted.

Timothy had nothing left to bet, but her pout twisted his heart almost evilly. “Yeah…I mean no! I’ll keep going as long as you want me too!” He worried his lip gingerly.

Both Moxxi and Roland laughed, “It’s alright to stop, soldier!” At that moment there came a knock at the door. Roland shot out of his seat and exited swiftly, leaving Moxxi and Timothy in the room alone to feel the air grow heavy around them.

Timothy instinctively brought his hood back over his head and drew the mask in close, covering his face as the two of them listened intently to see if they could hear what was going happening on the other side of the door.

Several minutes passed without Roland’s return.

“I still have a hard time believing everything.” Moxxi’s voice sounded distant and as Timothy looked at her he saw that she was gazing off into nowhere, her face deep in thought. “It’s not like things used to be simple, but this…” She sighed and turned her gaze to Tim’s face. “I forget sometimes that you look just like him.”

Something stirred inside him at those words. The door opened again.

“The Vault Hunters are moving in on Jack. We have the means of entering the Bunker. This is it.” Any sign that they had been laughing and enjoying each other’s company had vanished. Moxxi and Timothy hurried out of the building, giving Roland a hasty farewell as they left and headed back to the bar. 

“Mox, do you think this is really it?” Tim had just barely managed to speak on their way back.

She didn’t answer at first, working over her words carefully. “I’ve known all those Vault Hunters for a while now,” she looked to Tim with an optimistic face, “they wouldn’t say something was ‘it’ for nothing.” 

Timothy was less than convinced, and she could tell.

“Don’t you go worrying that pretty little head of yours, sugar.”


	4. Just Like You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was by far my favourite chapter to write

Sleep didn’t grace him that night.

Tossing and turning all night turned into pacing in the morning and a worried walk through town to pass the time. The lack of news was like a deafening silence that screamed at his ears. 

As the sun passed over and set once again, Timothy returned to his room and tried again to sleep.

Slowly he managed to slip away.

“Hey, kiddo, long time no see.”

Timothy found himself in a small empty town. The buildings were nothing but shells, many of them missing doors and windows, and some of them having lost not only roofs but entire walls. 

Stumbling over debris he searched for where the voice had come from.

“God, you’re such a dumbass. I’m over here, loser.”

Turning around Timothy found a body-length mirror resting against a stone wall. The corner was broken, but he could see himself clearly in the reflection. 

“Who… who’s there?”

“Don’t shit around with me, I’m right here.” It was then that Tim noticed that his reflection was not his own. 

“Jack…?”

“Give the kid a prize! Finally! And to think, I would’ve thought you would recognize me. Seeing as though… well, you are me. But whatever.”

“Where… where am I?” Timothy stepped closer to the mirror, the reflection still moved with him. But the face articulated on its own.

“Oh coooome on! Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten this place! I thought we really experienced something special together here. One of my fondest memories with my good ol’ sexy body-double.” Timothy looked around, his eyes glancing around at the ruins. 

“Now, don’t let it go to your head, but I was pretty jealous of you and how you handled this place. So heroic! Taking out all those baddies barely with any of my help. Jeez, watching you work made me realize just how it must feel for people to watch me work. So awe inspiring. It was kinda humbling.” It was then that the memory began to rush back to Tim.

“You killed a lot of people here, kiddo. Well, not really people. Bandits.” 

He did this. He had wiped an entire town of people off the map in Jack’s name. ‘Cleansing’ Pandora of the labeled waste. 

“No… No…”

“Now don’t get all modest with me. You did this, you should be proud!”

“No! I didn’t do this! I… couldn’t do this…” Timothy felt tears well up in his eyes.

“Aw, come on! Look around! It’s right there! You did this!”

“NO! You did this! You did this! You’re a monster!” Timothy screamed at the mirror, and wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand.

Suddenly the mirror image of him was replaced with Handsome Jack himself, standing inches from him.

“No, kiddo. You. You did this.” Jack’s voice was a low growl. 

Timothy couldn’t handle it anymore, he threw his hands out to grasp at Jack’s throat and squeeze the breath out of him. Instead he was met with the cool feeling of glass against his hands. Jack was just out of reach, this time on the outside of glass mirror. A smirk played across his face as Timothy beat and screamed against the glass.

“You are me, kiddo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing Handsome Jack is soooo much fun, holy crap
> 
> Someone give me an excuse to write more of him 'cause damn


	5. Capture

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so the Major Character Death is really just a mention  
> But whatever  
> I have no clue what this chapter is, but I felt like it was pretty complete??? Maybe?  
> I might add on.  
> Who knows

“Timothy! Wake up!”

The nightmare that had plagued his sleep zapped quickly from view as Tim jolted out of bed, “Huh, what… What? What is it?” 

Outside was still dark, and mixed with his sleep-filled vision, Tim could barely see a few inches in front of his face. He felt a pressure at the side of his bed as the bedside lamp was clicked on.

Before him sat Moxxi, the makeup on her face was smudged beyond all recognition as tears streamed from her face. It was clear that she had been crying for a while now and the sight of her in such despair shook him to the very core. 

“Shit, Moxxi! What’s wrong?”

Through a hiccup she brought a hand up to her face and wiped away a few of her tears, clenching her jaw and holding back so she could speak. “He’s dead, love.” Her voice was surprisingly composed in contrast to her appearance. 

Confusion gripped at him tightly. Unsure what to do, Timothy crawled from the covers and sat next to Moxxi, placing a hand at her back. “Who? Who’s dead, Mox?” He hoped deeply that she meant him, but there was no way that he would warrant such a reaction from her.

She steadied herself and took a deep breath. “Roland. Jack killed him today. The Vault Hunters came by earlier to tell me. He shot him. Shot him right in the back.” Her voice was distant and cold, but tears were once again beginning to stream down her cheeks. 

Timothy’s breath hitched in the back of his throat, and he felt a sudden intense emptiness in his chest. “What? Are you sure?”

“Oh, Sugar, don’t give me that ‘5 stages of Grief’ bullshit. You heard me.” Her voice didn’t raise or change, but Tim felt the poison in them.

They sat in silence for a few moments.

Timothy mulled the thought over in his head until the true meaning of the words he had heard settled in finally. An audible gasp escaped his throat as he caved, sobs pouring from him. He buckled down upon himself as he felt a kind hand ghost across his back. They stayed like that for a while.

The comforting circles that Moxxi’s hand patted across his shoulders managed to calm him to the point that he could look at her once again. They locked eyes and he could feel his face warm even more.

“How.”

Through his tears he questioned her, “How? How what?”

“That face. Even with your tears and sobbing it doesn’t change. It’s inhuman.” She placed her hands against Timothy’s face, “this face doesn’t deserve to mourn Roland.” Her finger tips then moved toward the metal clasps. Timothy pulled away from her quickly.

“This face is as much mine as it is his, Mox.” 

“You’re right…” She sighed, “I’m sorry, sugar. I’m just… a mess.” She looked down at her hands for a moment, but then returned her gaze to his face. “Let me see.”

Timothy shied away from her, feeling himself fall into himself. “I don’t think I-“

“Tim, baby…” Her voice trailed off as she watched him reach towards his face and slowly undo the metal clasps about his face. With all of them undone, he sighed deeply, then removed the mask. The cool air kissed his cheeks gently and he gathered his courage to look at her. Turning his head to face her he feigned a smile, but it broke when they locked eyes with one another.

She didn’t speak to him. 

Eventually he noticed that she had raised her hands to his face. Her fingers played across his face delicately. She felt every crack and crevice of the mangled visage, outlining the burn with a strange sort of curiosity.

“Lil had told me what she did to Jack, but this…” Her lower lip trembled for a moment, but she bit past the pain. “I’ll make him pay for what he did to you and Roland.” Fire had ignited in her eyes, a fire that scared Timothy to the core. He had seen that fire before many times, and had felt it himself. 

“That son of a bitch is going to die humiliated and alone, just like how he left you.” She brought her face close to Timothy’s and placed a single smoldering kiss just between his eyebrows, and the very top of his scar. His insides grew hot and he felt his heart scream. But her words were not comfort. 

She then left him to mourn on his own. 

Mourn the loss of Roland, and the realization that he hadn't had escaped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!  
> It means a helluva lot to me, and I really hope you enjoyed.


End file.
